From a crab apparently brandishing a blade to a man driving through a locked grocery store because he needed a bathroom, the US saw its share of bizarre incidents in the second half of September. Here are five unusual stories that may have escaped the headlines.
‘Knife-wielding’ crab confronts Florida man and his dog
A Florida man had an unexpected backyard confrontation when his dog came across a blue land crab apparently holding a blade in one of its claws.Eduardo Alvarez posted a video of the encounter on Instagram on September 16. In the footage, his dog, Summer, approaches the crab before the crustacean appears to wave the blade at the animal and later at Alvarez.Alvarez eventually manages to pick up the crab and move it farther into his yard. He jokingly describes it as a “gangster-ass crab”.The video quickly went viral, with reports saying it had attracted more than 20 million views. The object appears to be part of a pocketknife, although it is unclear how the crab came to be holding it.
Police dismantle New Jersey car to rescue 3-foot python
Police in Franklin Township, New Jersey, had to take apart part of a car after a roughly three-foot python became trapped inside its front grille.The incident was reported to police on September 14, and officers found the snake wedged inside the vehicle. Body-camera footage released by authorities showed officers removing portions of the car’s front end to free the ball python.Photographs released by police showed the snake tightly lodged behind the grille before it was eventually removed.The circumstances of how the python got into the vehicle were not immediately clear.“I was just really happy that it didn’t, like, pop its head through the AC vent when I was driving or come in through the steering wheel,” the woman Aiyana Hudson said. “I want to let you know my car would have been lit on fire, and we’d be calling the fire department at that point.”
Virginia police chase runaway pig through the rain
Two police officers in Virginia found themselves involved in an unusual pursuit after a pig escaped and began running alongside a roadway in Dale City.The Prince William County Police Department posted video of the officers chasing the animal through a rain-soaked roadside area on September 22, adding the caption: “There’s a cop joke here, right?”Police said they had received reports of a pig and a dog roaming loose in the area since the previous day. Officers eventually caught the pig near Trident Lane and Dale Boulevard.There was, however, a sad ending to the story. Police later said the dog that had been roaming with the pig was struck and killed by a vehicle at another location.
Suspect bites police K-9’s ear during SWAT standoff in California
A SWAT operation in Southern California took an unusual turn when a suspect allegedly bit a police dog during his arrest.Redondo Beach police said K-9 Wouter was deployed to help officers apprehend a wanted felon who had barricaded himself inside a home in Wilmington. During the apprehension, police said, the suspect bit Wouter and tore off part of the dog’s ear.Wouter was taken to an animal hospital for treatment and was later photographed wearing a protective cone.The Redondo Beach Police Department shared photos of the injured K-9 while wishing him a speedy recovery.
Texas man drives through closed Kroger because he needed a bathroom
A 60-year-old Texas man allegedly took an extreme approach to a bathroom emergency when he drove his vehicle through the entrance of a closed Kroger supermarket.The incident happened at about 4:30am on September 27 in Rosenberg, southwest of Houston. According to police, the man became upset after finding the store’s doors locked and intentionally accelerated his vehicle through the pharmacy entrance.Police said their investigation revealed that the man needed to use the restroom. The crash caused extensive damage to the store’s entrance, and the man was arrested on a criminal-mischief charge.The Rosenberg Police Department summed up the bizarre incident with a tongue-in-cheek warning: if you need to use a restroom, find a business that is actually open.
